Carding machine



F. REITERER Jan. 4, 1966 CARDING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 28, 1963 Fla.

INVENTOR. FERDINAND REITERER BY I M 3,1,, EQJDM his ATTORNEYS Jan. 4, 1966 F. REITERER 3,226,774

CARDING MACHINE Filed March 28, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 3

INVENTOR. FERDINAND REITERER AT TOH/VEY F. REITERER GARDING MACHINE Jan. '4, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed March 28, 1963 I In R M m E T N NE R D mN A W D R E F his ATTORNEY F. REITERER Jan. 4, 1966 CARDING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed March 28, 1963 INVENTOR.

FERDINAND REITERER BY MM his A TT OR/VE Y F. REITERER GARDING MACHINE Jan. 4, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed March 28, 1963 INVENTOR. FERDINAND REITERER @J M his ATTORNEYS setts Filed Mar. 28, 1963, Ser. No. 269,847 9 Claims. (Cl. 1999) This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending applications Serial No. 774,056, filed November 14, 1958, now US. Patent No. 3,089,200; for Carding Apparatus, and Serial No. 858,463, filed December 9, 1959, now abandoned, for Carding Machine.

This invention relates to machines for carding cotton fibers and the like and, more-particularly, to a new and improved carding machine arranged to operate a increased speed and to produce a product of higher quality than conventional machines.

In conventional carding machines consisting, for example, of a rotating main cylinder or swift having a toothed clothing mounted on its outer surface to hold fibers thereon, a lickerin to supply fibers to the main cylinder, a flat chain having fillet wire to comb the fibers held on the main cylinder and a doifer which also has a toothed clothing to remove the web of combed fibers from the main cylinder surface, along with a vibrating comb to detach the web of fibers from the doffer, the fibers, in addition to being cleaned and disentangled, are arranged with a certain degree of parallelism. There are many factors, however, which tend to disrupt the degree of parallelism of the fibers during the operation of conventional carding machines and to produce neps and, as a result, the quality of the product is not as high as it might be. In addition, the maximumjrate at which fibers can be cardedl by conventionalmachines is severely limited.

One of the primary disadvantages of conventional carding machines is that the fibers are transferred imperfectly from the toothed clothing of one cylinder such as the swift to the toothed clothing of the next cylinder such as the doifer. Not only is a certain proportion of the fibers retainedon the first cylinder clothing after it passes the transfer zone but, in addition, those fibers which have been transferred tend to lose their parallel realtionship to a certain extent and to form neps in the web of fibers. Also, some of the fibers which arenot transferred properly are forced against the casing of themachine or are divertcd into the waste, resulting in a substantial loss of usable fibers. Furthermore, any attempt to raise the speed of operation of conventional carding machines so as to increase the production rate has been found to further reduce the degree of parallelism of the fibers in the transferred web, to increase the number of neps in the web, and to raise the proportion of good fibers diverted into the waste.

Another shortcoming of conventional machines is a use of a vibrating detaching comb to remove the web from the doifer cylinder. This comb, because of its rapid beating movement, further contributes to the destruction of any aprallelism of the fibers that might remain in the web and, moreover, it limits the speed of operation of the machine because its beating speed can not exceed a; certain upper limit.

For many years various attempts have been made to eliminate 'the above disadvantages in the operation of conventional carding machines but none have been satisfactory. There have been several proposals, for example, to replace the usual doifer with a smooth surfaced hollow condensing cylinder having apertures in the outer wall thereof and internal suction so that fibers are sucked United States PatcntC) 3,226,774 Patented Jan. 4, 1966 from the swift clothing on to the outer surface of the ferred in the same fiber web in which they are carried on the swift clothing and with the'same parallelism maintained.

Furthermore, as a practical matter, smooth surfaced collecting cylinders of this type must rotate in the same angular direction as the swift so that the fibers are carried over the top of the cylinder as it turns. Otherwise, the fibers collected on the cylinder surface would tend to fall off as they were carried below the cylinder. With thisarrangement, however, the adjacent surfaces of the swift and the collecting cylinder move in opposite'directions in the transfer region so that any fibers transferred from one to the other near the line of closest approach of the surfaces are pulled back on the teeth of the swift clothing and thereby become broken, tangled and disoriented. While it has been proposed to avoid this problem by brushing the fibers off the swift clothing with a rotating brush disposed in advance of the line of closest approach, that arrangement likewise disrupts the fiber orientation and produces hops and therefore can not transfer the fibers in web form with their parallel relation maintained. The rotating brush, moreover, must rotate with a higher surface speed than swift clothing in order to remove fibers therefrom and, in so doing, it creates a very strong current of air which further contributes to'the disruption of the fibers transferred to the collecting. cylinder. 7

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved carding system for fibers wherein the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art are effectively eliminated.

Another object of the invention is to provide .a carding system of the above character enabling a higher rate of carding in a machine of a given size and, at the same time,

', improved quality of the sliver produced thereby.

A further object of the invention is to provide a carding system wherein a web of fibers held on the clothing of one cylinder in acarding machine may be transferred in web form to the clothing of another cylinder on the carding machine without appreciable disruption of the arrangement of the fibers in the web or formation of neps.

These and other objects of the invention are attained by providing a pneumatic action at the transfer zone between two cylinders which regulates the flow of air in the transfer zones so that it does not interfere with the orderly transfer of the fiber web from one cylinder to the other. In this regard,it is believed that one of the reasons for the difficulties encountered in the transfer of fibers in conventional carding machines is the inability of the current of air moving adjacent to the surfaces of the rotating cylinders to escape properly when it approaches the transfer zone between the cylinders and is compressed therebetween. Consequently, these currents of air, compressed by the constricted area between the cylinders, produce a wide variety of eddy currents and localized pressure conditions, thereby disrupting the arrangement of the fibers in the web as it is transferred from one cylinder to the other and producing neps in the web. Moreover, as the speed of rotation of the cylinder increases, the degree of disruption of the web and the proportion of neps produced likewise increases.

In accordance with the invention, therefore, the pneumatic action provided at the transfer zone permits a smooth and uniform flow of air which does not interfere with but rather assists in the orderly transfer of the web without appreciably disrupting the fibers therein. This pneumatic action, which may be either a suction effect, a blowing effect, or a suction and blowing effect combined, and in the case of the suction effect may result from the provision of means for receiving air and directing it away from the transfer zone, may be applied to either or both of the adjacent cylinders moving through a transfer region and, in addition, a pneumatic effect may be applied at each of the transfer regions in a carding machine.

In one embodiment, a pneumatic effect at the transfer zone between two cylinders having toothed clothings is accomplished by providing one of the cylinders with an air-permeable surface and disposing, within that cylinder and adjacent to the transfer zone, an air-receiving duct so that air carried adjacent to the cylinder surfaces can, upon reaching the transfer zone, pass through the permeable surface and escape through the air-receiving duct without generating increased pressure or causing eddy currents or being forced through the web which is transferred. Preferably, the air-receiving duct is disposed inside the cylinder to which the web is to be transferred and, if desired, suction may be applied to the duct.

The pneumatic effect may also be created or enhanced in certain cases by providing an air-permeable surface on the cylinder from which the web is to be transferred and an air supply duct within the cylinder to blow air outwardly through the air-permeable surface at the transfer zone. This arrangement, moreover, when incorporated within the doffer cylinder or within the swift permits detachment of the web directly therefrom without the use of a vibrating comb. In this case, the web may be drawn directly from the cylinder to a pair of rotating calendar rolls disposed in the path of air blown from Within the cylinder or, if desired, the web may be drawn onto an endless conveyor belt interposed between the cylinder and the calender rolls and this conveyor may be perforated and subject to internal suction,

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from a reading of the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in longitudinal section of a typical carding machine embodying one form of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a similar view of another form of carding machine according to the invention;

FIG. 3 is a view in transverse section taken through the main cylinder of the carding machine shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view in longitudinal section showing another form of carding machine according to the invention;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are views in vertical and horizontal longitudinal section, respectively, of another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the lickerin arrangement in the embodiment of FIGS. 5 and 6; and

FIG. 8 is a view in longitudinal section showing a further aspect of the invention.

In the embodiment of the invention shown by way of example in FIG. 1, a carding machine is provided with a main cylinder or swift 1 having an outer surface 1a formed with apertures so as to be air-permeable and having a toothed clothing 1b, which is likewise air-permeable, mounted thereon. Within the main cylinder, a blowing nozzle 2 is positioned so as to direct air through the airpcrmeable surface 1a toward a dofiing cylinder 4. The doffer likewise has an air-permeable outer surface 4a and a toothed clothing 4b mounted thereon and, Within the doffer, is an air-receiving duct 3 which opens toward the transfer zone between the swift and the doffer. This duct provides relative suction at the transfer region by being connected to a zone of lower pressure which may be either the atmosphere or a suction device. Furthermore, an air pressure duct 5 is also mounted within the dotfer and has its outlet adjacent to a pair of calendar rolls 7 between which the web of fibers passes after leaving the duct.

In operation, with the swift 1 and the dotfer 4 turning in the directions indicated by the arrows, the Web of fibers, indicated in the drawings by the dot dash line, after being combed by the top flats, is transferred from the swift clothing to the dolfer clothing at the transfer region between the two by the point-to-point mechanical action of the clothing teeth, thereby imparting a further combing action to the fibers in the web. Furthermore, the layer of air carried with the swift clothing as it rotates, which is confined beneath the casing of the machine, as well as the layer carried with the doffer clothing, which is also confined beneath its casing, upon reaching the transfer region, instead of being compressed and forming eddy currents and localized pressure variations and being forced through the fiber web at the time of transfer, flows smoothly and uniformly through the airpermeable surface 4a of the doffer and into the air-receiving duct 3 within the doffer, as indicated by the dotted :arrow therein, by reason of the relatively lower pressure in the duct.

As a result, the fiber web is not distributed by eddy currents or by air being forced through it upon being transferred from the swift clothing to the doffer clothing at the transfer zone and, consequently, even at operating speeds up to five or more times that of conventional machines, the parallel relation of the fibers in the web is not appreciably disturbed, the number of neps formed during transfer of the web is reduced, and the tendency of individual fibers to remain on the swift clothing after transfer of the web is decreased. Although it has been found that substantially improved web quality and higher operating speed as compared with conventional carding machines can be obtained by merely exposing the duct 3 to atmospheric pressure so that the relative suction therein results only from the difference between the pressure of the air carried in the layers beneath the machine casing adjacent to the cylinder clothings and atmospheric pressure, in some cases, the web quality and speed of operation can be further increased by connecting the duct 3 to a source of negative pressure, i.e. a suction device producing a pressure less than atmospheric pressure, such as the intake side of a blower. To further facilitate the smooth and uniform flow of air into the receiving duct 3 and assist the improved transfer of the fiber web from the swift clothing to the doffer clothing without disturbance, air under pressure may be applied to the supply duct within the swift 1. This expedient not only aids in promoting a smooth air fiow pattern but it also tends to raise the fiber web to the tips of the teeth in the swift clothing 1b, thereby contributing to the complete transfer of fibers and the maintenance of their parallel relation in the web.

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of a carding machine wherein the usual doffer is replaced by an endless conveyor belt 31 on which the fiber web is carried after leaving the swift. In this case, the web is removed directly from the swift by the outward pressure of the air supplied by the internal duct 2. The belt 31, moreover, is perforated so as to provide an air-permeable surface and suction is applied to the lower face 6 thereof so as to hold the Web against the upper surface of the belt and also to remove dust from the web. As in the case of the usual doffer, the surface of the belt moves at a lower speed than does that of the swift so that the web of fibers is condensed on the belt surface. Upon leaving the belt 31, the web is directed between a pair of calendar rolls 7. FIG. 3, which is a transverse sectional view through the swift 1, illustrates the connection between the air supply duct 2 and a blower 8.

The carding machine shown in FIG. 4 is similar to.

that of FIG. Zexcept that the web .of fibers passes directly from the swift 1 to the calender rolls 7 at the transfer zone, the transfer being facilitated by the pneumatic action of the air supplied through the duct 2. As in the case of a doifer, the rolls 7 have a lower peripheral speed than the swift so that the web of fibers is condensed in passing between them. In addition, this embodiment includes a moving apron made of wire gauze for the continuous removal of' waste from the interior of the machine. Motion of the apron is accomplished by the rotation of two rollers 9 and 10 around which the wire gauze passes and a compressing roller 11. A suction orifice 12 connected to the intake of the blower 8, as shown in FIG. 3, causes the waste tooling to the. wire gauze in the form of a sheet so that the gauze acts as a filter as well as a conv yor belt. Preferably, the waste, issuing in the form ofa sheetbetween between the rolls 10 and 11, is guided into a hopper 13 which forms the input for a pneumatic conveying installation.

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate a typical carding machine wherein pneumatic action is applied at all of the web transfer zones in the machine. In this case, the swift 1, which is 'of the type described above, has an internal air supply duct 2 arranged to blow air in the direction of the doffer and connected through a pressure conduit 14 to an enclosure 15 containing a blower 16 so as to receive air from the blower. Moreover, the air-receiving duct 3 in the dofier 4 is connected by a suction conduit 17 to the enclosure 15 at the intake side of the blower and and air supply duct '18 in the doffer is connected through a conduit 19 to the pressure side of the fan enclosure 15. The duct 18 enables the Web to be detached from the doifer clothing in the manner described above and two pairs of rollers 26, 26 are disposed in the path of air from the nozzle for the purpose of conveying the web away from the doffer surface.

Another air supply duct 20 directs air toward the transfer zone between the surfaces of a lickerin 21 and the swift 1 substantially tanget to the swift surface and an air-receiving duct 22 within the swift receives air from the transfer zone and is connected to the intake side of the fan enclosure 15 through a conduit 23. The flat chain which cooperates with the swift in the usual manner to comb the fibers ofthe web is designated by the numeral 24. As best seen in the magnified view of FIG. 7, the likerin 21 rotates in the direction designated by the arrow F and the air supply duct 20 directs air toward the line of closest proximity of the liker-in and the swift 1 where it flows through apertures 27 in the wall of the swift and similar apertures 28 provided in the swift clothing 29 and then into the air-receiving duct 22, as indicated by the arrows F Thus, at the region of transfer, there is no excess pressure, eddy current or flow of air through the fibers being transferred so as to cause incomplete transfer andaccumulation of the fibers under the casing 30 but, on the contrary, there is a gentle and uniform flow of air in the transfer region promoting the smooth and regular transfer of fibers from the teeth of the lickerin to the clothing of the swift.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the web transfer region between the doffer and the swift in a partisular carding machine arranged according to the in- Vention, wherein the swift 34 is of the conventional type, having no surface perforations and no internal air duct. The doifer 4 is identical to that of FIGS. 1 and 5, having an air-permeable surface 4a and a toothed clothing mounted thereon, along with an internal air-receiving duct 3 opening adjacent to the web transfer zone between the two cylinders. In this arrangement, it has been found that the best results are obtained if the center of the opening of the duct 3 is located slightly in advance of the line of closest proximity of the two cylinders so that the upper edge of the duct opening is adjacent to or just below the lower edge of the front plate or casing 32 which encloses the swift above that region. In addition, approximately two-thirds of the duct opening is located above the line of closest approach and about one-third is disposed below the line of closest approach. This disposition permits the layer of air carried with the swift clothing beneath the cas ing 32 to flow smoothly and uniformly into the air-receiving duct ;3 as soon as the layer passes the lower edge of the casing 32 so that there is no appreciable current of air at the transfer region along the line of closest approach which might disturb the fibers in the web being transferred at that region.

Exemplifying the advantages of the present invention, a machine arranged as described above in connection with FIG. 8 was operated at approximately five times the speed of ,a conventional card with various types of cotton and, in eachjcase, it produced sliver having a quality comparable to or higher than that obtained from a conventional card, both with and without the application of suction to the air-receiving duct 3, the sliver quality being, in some instances, slightly better with additional suction applied to this duct than without At operating speeds less than five times that of a conventional card, moreover, the number of neps produced in the resulting sliver was substantially lower than and the overall quality of the sliver appreciably higher than that of a conventional carding machine.

Although the invention has been described herein with reference to specific embodiments, many modifications and variations therein will readily occur to those skilled inthe art. Accordingly, all such variations and modifications are included within the intended scope of the invention. as defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1, A carding machine comprising a swift having fiberengaging teeth on the periphery thereof for engaging fibers mechanically to hold them while they are subjected to a carding operation, a doffer having a toothed airpermeable fiber-receiving surface movable adjacent to the swift, means for driving the surface of the doffer in the same peripheral direction with respect to the swift in a transfer zone to receive fibers from the swift in the form of a continuous web, air-confining casing means disposed between and closely adjacent to the portions of the swift and the doffer which move toward the line of closest proximity of the swift and doffer so as to define a transfer zone extending along the line of closest proximity whereby a layer of air is carried beneath the casing means, by the motion of the swift, to the transfer zone, air-receiving means within the doifer for directing air received in the transfer zone from beneath the casing means from theregion of the transfer zone through the air-permeable fiber-receiving surface into the interior of the doifer to facilitate the smooth transfer of fibers from the swift to the dolfer by relieving localized pressure variations and avoiding formation of eddy currents, the teeth providing means for retaining the web of fibers on the surface of the doifer after the web has been carried beyond the transfer zone, and means for removing the fibers from the doffer.

2. A carding machine according to claim 1 wherein the air-receiving means is disposed to receive air from a location in advance of the line of closest proximity between the swift and the doffer.

3. A carding machine according to claim 1 including suction means connected to the air-receiving means for drawing air inwardly therein through the air-permeable surface.

4. Apparatus for carding fibers comprising .a first perforated cylinder having a toothed clothing for engaging the fibers mechanically to hold them while they are subjected to a carding operation, a second perforated cylinder adjacent to the first cylinder at a transfer zone and having a toothed clothing for engaging the fibers while so held in the transfer zone by the clothing of the first cylinder, means for applying suction from within the second cylinder in the region of the transfer zone to facilitate the transfer of the fibers from the first cylinder to the second cylinder, and means for applying at the transfer zone an outward air pressure from within the first cylinder to the fibers on the toothed clothing thereof to facilitate the transfer of the fibers therefrom.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4 wherein the means for applying suction applies a suction to the fibers before they are engaged by the toothed clothing of the second cylinder.

6. Apparatus for carding fibers comprising a perforated cylinder having a toothed clothing for engaging the fibers mechanically to hold them while they are subjected to a carding operation, a second fiber-carrying member having a perforated fiber-receiving surface movable adjacent to the cylinder at a transfer zone to receive the fibers from the cylinder in the transfer Zone, and means for applying an outward air pressure upon the fibers from within the perforated cylinder in the region of the transfer zone to facilitate transfer of the fibers to the surface of the second perforated member.

7. A carding machine including a swift having fiberengaging teeth on and apertures through the periphery thereof, a doi'fer associated with the swift and having apertures through the periphery thereof, means to deliver fibers to the swift, means within the swift to apply a suction through the apertures in a zone adjacent the fiber-deliverying means, means to apply air under pressure outwardly through the apertures of the swift in a zone adjacent the doffer, means within the doffer to apply a suction through the apertures in the doffer in a zone adjacent the swift, and means to apply air under pressure outwardly through the apertures of the dolfer in a zone spaced from the swift to discharge the fibers from the doffer.

8. A machine according to claim 7 wherein the dolfer is provided with fiber-engaging teeth on the periphery thereof.

9. A carding machine including a rotatable cylinder having fiber-engaging teeth on and apertures through the periphery thereof, means to deliver fibers to the cylinder, conveyor means adjacent to the cylinder for removing fibers therefrom at a location spaced from the means to deliver fibers including a continuous belt having apertures therein, means to apply air under pressure outwardly through the apertures of the cylinder in a zone adjacent the conveyor means to discharge fibers from the cylinder, and means associated with the conveyor means to apply a suction through the apertures in the conveyor belt in a zone adjacent the cylinder to draw the fibers onto the belt.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,280,863 10/1918 Saunders. 1,346,550 7/1920 Martin 19l56.1 2,077,095 4/1937 Cady 19106 2,097,992 11/1937 Wallaert 19106 2,847,717 8/ 1958 Jervis 19106 2,878,525 3/1959 Miller 1998 2,935,766 5/1960 Lehman 19106 2,987,779 6/ 1961 Kawashime 19106 3,089,200 5/ 1963 Reiterer 19106 FOREIGN PATENTS 2,270 1869 Great Britain. 462,201 3/ 1937 Great Britain. 528,727 11/ 1940 Great Britain.

DONALD W. PARKER, Primary Examiner. 

1. A CARDING MACHINE COMPRISING A SWIFT HAVING FIBERENGAGING TEETH ON THE PERIPHERY THEREOF FOR ENGAGING FIBERS MECHANICALLY TO HOLD THEM WHILE THEY ARE SUBJECTED TO A CARDING OPERATION, A DOFFER HAVING A TOOTHED AIRPERMEABLE FIBER-RECEIVING SURFACE MOVABLE ADJACENT TO THE SWIFT, MEANS FOR DRIVING THE SURFACE OF THE DOFFER IN THE SAME PERIPHERAL DIRECTION WITH RESPECT TO THE SWIFT IN A TRANSFER ZONE TO RECEIVE FIBERS FROM THE SWIFT IN THE FORM OF A CONTINUOUS WEB, AIR-CONFINING CASHING MEANS DISPOSED BETWEEN AND CLOSELY ADJACENT TO THE PORTIONS OF THE SWIFT AND THE DOFFER WHICH MOVE TOWARD THE LINE OF CLOSEST PROXIMITY OF THE SWIFT AND DOFFER SO AS TO DEFINE A TRANSFER ZONE EXTENDING ALONG THE LINE OF CLOSEST PROXIMITY WHEREBY A LAYER OF AIR IS CARRIED BENEATH THE CASING MEANS, BY THE MOTION OF THE SWIFT, TO THE TRANSFER ZONE, AIR-RECEIVING MEANS WITHIN THE DOFFER FOR DIRECTING AIR RECEIVED IN THE TRANSFER ZONE FROM BENEATH THE CASING MEANS FROM THE REGION OF THE TRANSFER ZONE THROUGH THE AIR-PERMEABLE FIBER-RECEIVING SURFACE INTO THE INTERIOR OF THE DOFFER TO FACILITATE THE SMOOTH TRANSFER OF FIBERS FROM THE SWIFT TO THE DOFFER BY RELIEVING LOCALIZED PRESSURE VARIATIONS AND AVOIDING FORMATION OF EDDY CURRENTS, THE TEETH PROVIDING MEANS FOR RETAINING THE WEB OF FIBERS ON THE SURFACE OF THE DOFFER AFTER THE WEB HAS BEEN CARRIED BEYOND THE TRANSFER ZONE, AND MEANS FOR REMOVING THE FIBERS FROM THE DOFFER. 